Osun Assembly: Tribunal nullifies Ife-Central constituency election

The election that produced lawmaker representing the Ife Central State Constituency into the Osun State House of Assembly from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been nullified by the National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Osogbo.

As a result of the development, fresh elections had been ordered to be conducted in some 26 polling units of the Constituency of the State by the tribunal.

The tribunal, in it’s judgement, ruled that, Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections 2022 and the Manual for Election Officials in declaring the 2nd Respondent, Awoyeye Abiola Jeremiah, as the winner of the election, which was held on the 18th day of March, 2023 and that as a result, the 2nd Respondent was not validly elected.

The 3-man panel led by Honourable Justice V. O. Eboreim further ruled that, on Saturday the 30th day of September, 2023 that the petitioners were able to prove that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) did not substantially comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022,

The other members of the panel were Honourable Justice Habibu Mika’ilu and Honourable Justice Clara J. Kataps.

After the judgement, the respondent lawyers for INEC, Naim Adekilekun for the sacked lawmaker and Nurudeen Kareem who stood in for B. R. Gold as counsel for the Peoples’ Democratic Party, informed the tribunal that they would appeal the judgment.

It will be recalled that, the All Progressives’ Congress and its candidate for the Ife Central State Constituency, Adejobi Adeyinka Johnson, dragged the Respondents before the election tribunal and asked the court to nullify the declaration and return made by INEC for the Ife Central State Constituency.

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